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Level One, Charter One banks launch wealth management divisions

Two area banks announced this week that they have launched wealth management divisions — one a small but growing community bank and the other part of a super-regional bank.

Farmington Hills-based Level One Bank, which has seven branches, has launched its wealth-management operation after recruiting two area veterans of wealth management, according to Timothy Mackay, Level One's senior vice president of retail & mortgage banking. A Level One spokesperson identified the new hires as Jeff Bittner and Keith Hatton.

Mackay said he plans to add more wealth managers as the bank grows that line of business. He said it made sense for the bank to augment its commercial business relationships by offering business owners help with their personal finances, as well.

Services include financial planning, Social Security analysis, business succession planning, college education planning, family wealth transfer strategies and insurance and investment advising.

Also this week, Rhode Island-based RBS Citizens Financial Group Inc., a $122 billion bank holding company that is a business unit of the Royal Bank ofScotland, announced it was launching wealth management services for its Charter One Bank operations in Ohio and Michigan.

The services are available to Charter One customers with investable assets of at least $500,000.

Charter One will offer wealth management at 30 of its Michigan branches, most of them in Southeast Michigan, and at 33 branches in Ohio.